Streamer on Office WiFi?

Just get a repeater for <$50. And you get the benefit of going wired from it.

Thanks for the response! But I think I would have the same problem getting that device on the network.... and I’m not even sure there are any repeaters compatible with WPA2-EAP, at least none that I can find. It would have to connect to the WPA2-EAP network then transmit a new SSID with the WPA2-Personal protocol.

Do you know of a particular model compatible with WPA2-EAP?

Thanks!

@fuzztone 

I completely agree if it was at home. But the workplace is different. I have been in charge of IT as Director for decades. 

I would just call your IT guys. Enterprise security is different than home stuff. They tend to be really helpful 

Not sure if this is your use case, but if you intend to stream from your phone, the MacBook can easily be a UPnP renderer - basically doing what you bought the Audiolab for. I use Kodi with a Mac mini and I can stream from my Android phone to it using BubbleUPnP.

The issue is you are trying to use corporate wifi for personal use. IT generally frowns on that since it could jeapardize IT security. Ask the IT folks and maybe they can be helpful but most will not just due to the risk on their end. Maybe stream from your phone or a public wifi spot if it exists.

So a good IT system will lock everything down by the MAC address.  Meaning, absolutely ZERO unauthorized / unregistered systems.  This even includes desktop switches, and of course any personal wifi devices.

When I first learned of this I was using a desktop switch to simplify my 3 laptop workstyle.  I brought an unused switch to the office, plugged it in and the IT department's scanners would pick it up and disable my cubicle's Ethernet port completely. 

Best suggestion I can think of is to use Bluetooth from your work PC.

Thanks for the replies!  

@yage, I do think I am going to end up using the MacBook to accomplish this.  I'm not quite familiar with the procedure you describe, but I thought I might run a digital signal out to an external DAC (even though from what I understand, the DAC in the MacBook Pro is supposed to be pretty good these days?). Is there any reason why the BubbleUPnP would be superior to going straight out of the MacBook?

@jbs I see now what the issue is; previously, it had not occurred to me that adding a device like this to the network would be any different than say, using my MacBook on the company WiFi.   I just thought, hey, I stream from my computer on the company WiFi, why would it be any different?  (I was wrong.)  I'll probably end up going up the chain and arguing that it isn't so much a personal use case, it's something I need to be productive in my office and since I'm pretty senior around here, there is at least a decent chance they'll do it for me.

I appreciate the thoughts, everyone. 

@zm, the only thing you gain by installing Kodi on the MacBook would be the ability to control playback and stream from a phone or tablet. If you're going to be at your computer anyway, then there's no need for Kodi.

I agree about the IT security issues.  Given the ransomware/malware issues out there, if I was an IT guy I would never countenance letting anyone use a streamer.

If the Audiolab has a usb slot try playing music from a flash drive or hard drive if you can do by bypassing the internet.  Otherwise use a CD player.

This day and age , at  my company , bringing up a personal device on a corporate  network is a huge no.  Even plugging in a USB device to a laptop is grounds for disciplinary action.   Threat vectors abound.